| Peirithous | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Biographical Information | |
| Real Name: | Peirithous |
| Age: | 1,000+ |
| Affiliations: | |
| Physical Description | |
| Gender: | Male |
| Hair color: | Grey |
| Character Information | |
| First appearance: | Recipe for Disaster |
| GALLERY | |
Peirithous was friends with Hercules and Theseus but was left behind by Hercules in The Underworld who was only able to save Theseus.
Appearance[]
Pirithous is shown as an older man with a balding head and thin build. He has a mustache and beard and is seen wearing a red robe and sandals.
Personality[]
Pirithous is first seen craving vengeance against Hercules for leaving him behind in the Underworld. He devised a plan to end Hercules and the other gods by tampering with the honey needed for ambrosia.
However, when he saw how upset Hercules was at the choice he was forced to make by leaving him behind, he apologized for his misdeeds and offered his help to fix things.
Plot[]
In the Series[]
Peirithous was friends with Hercules and Theseus, but was left behind by Hercules in The Underworld stuck to the Chair of Forgetfulness. After finally being set free by Hades he found out he could not return to the world of the living, as he had already used up what was left and had since died.
He spent the next thousands of years planning his revenge. After escaping, he planted a tree that would attract the Olympian bees, and eventually poisoning Ambrosia, and thus The Gods.
Mythology[]
Pirithous was the King of the Lapiths and a son of Dia, fathered possibly by Zeus. According to Homer, Dia had sex with Zeus, who was disguised as a stallion and gave birth to Pirithous.
Pirithous had heard rumors about Theseus' courage and strength in battle but he wanted proof. He rustled Theseus' herd of cattle from Marathon, and Theseus set out to pursue him. Pirithous took up arms and the pair met, then became so impressed by each other they took an oath of friendship. They were among the company of heroes that hunted the Calydonian Boar. They were considered "the strongest men that Earth has bred."
Later, Pirithous was set to marry Hippodamia. They soon had a son named, Polypoetes. who would become one of the Greek leaders during The Trojan War. Hippodamia died shortly after his birth, after which Pirithous went to visit Theseus at Athens only to discover that Theseus' own wife, Phaedra, was dead. So they pledged to carry off daughters of Zeus; Theseus chose Helen of Sparta and together they kidnapped her when she was 13 years of age and decided to hold on to her until she was old enough to marry. Pirithous chose a more dangerous prize, Persephone herself. They left Helen with Theseus' mother and travelled to The Underworld. When they stopped to rest on the Chair of Forgetfulness and found themselves unable to stand up from the rock as they saw The Furies appear before them.
Hercules freed Theseus from the chair, but the earth shook when he attempted to free Pirithous. He had committed too great a crime for wanting the wife of one of the great gods as his own bride. By the time Theseus returned to Athens, Helen's twin brothers had taken her back to Sparta. They had taken captive Theseus's mom, and Pirithous' sister and they became handmaidens of Helen and later followed her to Troy. Pirithous was worshiped at Athens, along with Theseus, as a hero.
Trivia[]
- The series slightly adapted Pirithous' legend by claiming he was left behind due to Hercules only being able/allowed to save one of the men. Hercules himself indicates two possible reasons he had to choose only one man to save, that either he was not strong enough to save both or that he had to decide on his own which one person to save and leave the other to perish.